Salt Lake City — Paterna BioSciences, a pioneering biotechnology company dedicated to solving male infertility, today announced the successful closure of a $6 million oversubscribed seed funding round, led by SpringTide Ventures, with participation from e184 and others. The investment will accelerate the development of the company’s innovative in vitro spermatogenesis (IVS) technology, poised to transform male and couple fertility treatment worldwide.
Male infertility contributes to approximately 50% of failed in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles globally, highlighting an urgent need for new treatment options. Despite these high failure rates, fertility care has seen limited innovation for decades. Paterna’s IVS science addresses this critical gap by offering a novel solution that stands to improve IVF success rates for countless families worldwide.
Alexander Pastuszak, MD, PhD, CEO of Paterna BioSciences, expressed his enthusiasm: “This seed funding marks a pivotal moment for Paterna and the field of reproductive medicine. Our in vitro spermatogenesis (IVS) science has the potential to fundamentally change reproductive health treatment, putting male infertility on par with female fertility, and improving how couples around the world receive fertility care. We are grateful for the support of our investors who share our vision of making infertility history.”
Antonio Pellicer, MD, Chairman of IVI RMA Global added, “As the world’s leading Reproductive Medicine group, we recognize the imperative priority for advancements in fertility treatments. Paterna’s innovative solution to in vitro spermatogenesis could be life-changing for our patients, potentially increasing success rates and expanding treatment options globally.”
The seed funding will be used to advance Paterna’s IVS technology through preclinical development, as well as to develop the company’s infrastructure and grow its team. Paterna expects to enter early-phase studies in 2025 and will bring its male fertility solution to market after FDA approval.
Ryan Morley, Partner at SpringTide Ventures, the lead investor in this round, commented: “Paterna BioSciences exemplifies the kind of innovative thinking and scientific rigor we prioritize. Their approach to addressing male infertility—an area that has seen little innovation in nearly 3 decades—has the potential to significantly impact fertility treatments, reducing costs and improving outcomes. We’re excited to support the Paterna team in their mission to help families achieve their dreams of parenthood.”
Alex Pisanov, Managing Director and Partner at e184, stated: “At e184, our mission is to invest in organizations advancing humanity through science and technology. Paterna’s IVS technology will be a game changer in how human reproduction occurs and we are thrilled to support such a frontier company.”
Other investors include the Utah Innovation Fund, Freya Ventures, Divergent Capital, Seaside Ventures, and several individual investors.
Paterna’s science is based on over a decade of collaborative research by its co-founders. The company is led by CEO Alex Pastuszak, MD, PhD, who brings extensive experience in reproductive medicine, urology, scientific research, and entrepreneurship. He is joined by other co-founders Jim Hotaling, MD, MS, FECSM, Brad Cairns, PhD, and Kyle Orwig, PhD. The company has successfully deciphered the in vivo environment for spermatogenesis and is applying this scientific knowledge to in vitro spermatogenesis (IVS), facilitating the treatment of male infertility.
About Paterna BioSciences
Paterna BioSciences is focused on solving male infertility through innovative approaches for in vitro spermatogenesis (IVS), a novel treatment by growing healthy sperm in a laboratory from the male’s own cells. The company’s mission is to improve human reproductive health by partnering with in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics to enhance success rates, engaging men in optimizing their reproductive health, and expanding the treatment options for IVF.
For more information about Paterna BioSciences, visit PaternaBio.com. To schedule a media or investor relations interview, please reach out to our media contact.
About SpringTide Ventures
SpringTide Ventures is a leading HealthTech venture capital firm with over $100 million in assets under management. Based in Boston, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco, SpringTide specializes in early-stage investments in digital health, medical devices, life sciences, and tech-enabled care delivery. Committed to innovation and global health improvement, the firm partners with forward-thinking entrepreneurs to develop technologies that enhance patient care, outcomes, and access to quality healthcare services. Visit Springtide.com for more information.
About IVI RMA Global
IVI RMA Global is a medical institution whose mission is to develop reproductive medicine at the highest level, promoting research, teaching and dissemination of knowledge and professional excellence. Visit ivirma.com for more information.
About e184
We are living in an exponential age. The challenge is that humans are not used to it. Our skills and capabilities are not growing at an ever-increasing rate, and even the population growth rate has slowed down, failing to align with an exponent. At e184, our mission is to invest in science and technology that transforms humans into exponential species. Visit e184.com for more information.
